Many parts or profiles cut from large metal plates will require a process to sever the part profile from the large plate such as by thermal cutting means. The part or profile may also require machining operations such as drilling or milling performed by a machining head such as a cutting tool with through spindle coolant. Typically, the machining operations are performed prior to the outer profile being cut and the part being severed, to ensure the part is supported during the machining operations.
Therefore, on some profile cutting machines, the bridge of the machine is often fitted with thermal cutting means including thermal cutting heads such as laser, oxy fuel and plasma cutting torches and also with machining heads with high speed spindles for machining operations.
Currently when cutting out parts from plate using the thermal cutting heads such as oxy fuel or plasma, the waste from this type of cutting falls below the plate being cut either into a void with water or coolant or alternatively the waste falls to the floor of the support structure and the fumes from the cutting is extracted from beneath the table supports.
When machining operations are performed on this style of profile cutting machine, the waste, in the form of chips or swarf, remains on top of a surface of the plate being cut. Also, the chips formed from machining operations are sharp and therefore not easily removed.
Currently, profile cutting machines that generate chips have fixed systems such as conveyors o to convey the chips away. However, the chips are required to be manually swept with a broom or similar or blown with a compressed air gun towards the conveyor.
Currently, cutting systems such as routers or other wood working machinery with a machining head that generate dry light chips such as wood chips or aluminium are often installed with a flexible plastic duct so that these chips can be extracted from the surface of the plate by applying a vacuum to the flexible plastic duct. Typically the flexible plastic duct is fitted with spiral steel reinforcing to prevent the duct collapsing from the vacuum. The flexible plastic duct extracts air and chips from the area around the machining head.
This flexible duct chip extraction system does not work very well for steel as the sharp hot chips bind to the flexible duct and spirals and block the flexible duct. Additionally this method only works for small cutting machines where the travel in the flexible ducts is kept to a minimum as metal chips cannot be reliably transported along flexible ducting due to chips catching on the soft material of the flexible duct and blocking the duct.
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